


The Perfect Medicine

by baloobird



Series: Ace Irondad and Spiderson [25]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Acephobia, And it doesn't get that bad or go that far, And it's very ace, Anti-Starker, Asexual Character, Asexual Peter Parker, Asexual Tony Stark, But I want to tag to be safe, But Mostly Comfort, Car rides, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Internalized Acephobia, Past Sexual Assault, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, The tags are worse than what's in the fic, This is my fave trope apparently, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, cheesy ending, it's not graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28119849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baloobird/pseuds/baloobird
Summary: He quickly taps the green symbol and holds the phone up to his ear, plugging his other one in an attempt to drown out the noise. “Hey, kid, what’s up—?”“Can you come pick me up?”The man’s eyebrows furrow in both concern and confusion. Peter’s voice sounded hushed but urgent at the same time; and for a Friday night, he doesn’t sound happy or excited about a free weekend ahead of him.“Uh, okay—” Tony starts but his protege cuts him off.“Look, I know it’s short notice and everything,” the sixteen-year-old says, keeping that same rushed tone yet his voice is just above a whisper, “But, but I don’t wanna worry May and, uh, I don’t know who else to call.” His voice softens as he concludes, “I’m sorry.”
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Ace Irondad and Spiderson [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750639
Comments: 37
Kudos: 391





	The Perfect Medicine

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, here's another ace fic, I hope you enjoy!!! 💜💜💜💜
> 
> ***Trigger warning: references to sexual assault that all happened off-screen. I promise, the tags are worse than what's in the fic, nothing is graphic and it doesn't get too far but I wanted to tag to be on the safe side, please be careful!!!***

Twenty minutes.

Tony and Rhodey have been at the bar barely twenty minutes when the mechanic gets an incoming call from his spider-kid. 

He quickly taps the green symbol and holds the phone up to his ear, plugging his other one in an attempt to drown out the noise. “Hey, kid, what’s up—?”

“Can you come pick me up?”

The man’s eyebrows furrow in both concern and confusion. Peter’s voice sounded hushed but urgent at the same time; and for a Friday night, he doesn’t sound happy or excited about a free weekend ahead of him.

“Uh, okay—” Tony starts but his protege cuts him off.

“Look, I know it’s short notice and everything,” the sixteen-year-old says, keeping that same rushed tone yet his voice is just above a whisper, “But, but I don’t wanna worry May and, uh, I don’t know who else to call.” His voice softens as he concludes, “I’m sorry.”

This only worries the hero further. “Nope, none of that, hang on a sec.” He stands up and decides to take the call outside, giving him space to concentrate away from drunk patrons and constant clinking glasses.

Once out the door, he leans against one of the windows, keeping his distance from incoming and outgoing customers. “Where are you at, what happened?”

“I really don’t wanna talk about it right now, okay? Look, I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever, I’ll pay for the gas, can you just  _ please _ pick me up? You can even just pick me and drop me off at home and then you can go back to whatever fun thing you’re at right now.”

“Kid, it’s just a bar, it’ll still be here.” Tony swallows a nervous lump in his throat, already heading toward his car. “Are you hurt?”

“No…not physically, anyway.”

“Not helping, Pete,  _ not helping. _ Just give it to me straight, what happened?”

“Can’t I just wait and tell you in person?”

The scientist groans in response. “Fine.” He grabs his keys out of his pocket and unlocks his car, putting the phone on speaker mode when he gets in the driver’s seat. “Where are you at?”

“Uh,” Peter says, his voice growing panicked, “I don’t know, I—some kid’s house, I don’t know—”

“That’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll have FRIDAY track your phone.” While he lets his AI work her magic, Tony sends Rhodey a text about what’s happening, earning a sarcastic response seconds later.

_ You really out here making ME have to pay for an uber? _

The genius can’t help but smirk.

_ You’re the best, platypus _

Tony’s ears perk up at FRIDAY confirming the teen’s location. “Alright, kid, I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes, see you then—”

“Don’t hang up!” Peter exclaims, almost in a shout but his tone is still kept at that same low volume, “Um, please? Can you stay on the phone?”

“Yeah, sure thing.” His father figure pulls out of the parking lot and merges onto the highway, glancing back and forth from the road to the GPS.

The faster he goes, the worrying only intensifies.

“You sure you’re not hurt?” he asks, knowing the answer but he’s got to get  _ something _ out of this kid. Is all this waiting worth the heart attack that’s stewing?

_ “Positive. _ Mr. Stark, I promise I’m fine.”

“So can you throw me a bone or  _ something, _ I’m worried sick over here, bud.”

“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just—it’d be better to say everything in person.”

Tony then hears commotion from the other end of the line, sounds of thuds, knocks, bangs.

“Shit,” the boy mutters. Before his mentor can ask, he shouts, “I have  _ explosive diarrhea!” _

“Pete, what the fuck?” the older genius says, both in disgust and a slight giggle at the outburst, “Mental images, kid,  _ scarring _ mental images—”

“Okay, they left, fucking finally.”

Peter doesn’t say anything to explain himself which prompts his hero to repeat what he just asked. “Peter,  _ what the fuck?” _

“What?”

“Diarrhea?  _ That’s _ the problem you’re having—?”

_ “No, _ oh my God, you heard that?” The teenager groans and Tony swears he can hear the embarrassment from his end of the line. “No,” Peter continues, “I uh, I may or may not be hiding in a shower right now. And, well, people tend to leave you alone if you say you have diarrhea so…here we are.”

“Why’re you hiding? Are you hiding from somebody?”

“Uh, yeah? Well, actually no—”

_ “Pete—” _

“Okay, yeah. I’m at this stupid party some stupid kid threw and  _ yeah, _ I’m hiding from someone. Happy now?”

“No, I feel  _ worse, _ what’d they do?”

“I told you already, I’m not telling you till I’m in the car.”

“For fuck’s sake—”

“It’s nothing like bad or-or anything, it’s just…embarrassing.”

“More embarrassing than you shouting at your classmates that you now have diarrhea?”

“Believe it or not, yes.”

“Well shit, no pun intended.”

That elicits a snort from the tyke, making Tony smile. “So,” the armored hero says, “Talk to me about this party. Does it suck that bad?”

“Uh, can’t tell to be honest. Everyone sounds like they’re having a good time but, uh, being around this many drunk people at once isn’t exactly my thing.”

“Then why are you there to begin with? Did Ned go with you?”

“Yeah,” the spiderling drawls, his voice suggesting unamusement, “Ned wanted to go and he dragged me here.”

“Where is he now?”

“I don’t know, probably having stupid sex with Betty. Last time I saw them, they were walking upstairs together—”

“You’re really destined to give me all these mental images, huh? I actually want to sleep tonight, y’know—”

“Yeah, get in line.” The teenager then mutters, “You don’t wanna know the images floating in  _ my _ head right now.”

Tony looks at the GPS on the car radio.

“Got five more minutes, kiddo,” he says softly, “Almost there.”

“Good. Um, thank you for this, by the way, and um, your talking helps.”

“Helps what?”

_ “Mr. Stark—” _

“Wanted to give it a shot, sue me.”

“If I had the money, I would.”

“Then how would you explain the ‘diarrhea debacle’?”

“Dude,” Peter grunts, a chuckle escaping him, “You know too many angles.”

“Years of playing the system.” Tony smiles, the expression falling seconds later. “Okay, I’m in the neighborhood, how’re you getting out?”

“The window’ll be fine, nothing’s going on back here anyway.”

“Okay, good.” The older man soon finds the house, easy to spot with the dozen or so kids that are outside. He then pulls over, not directly in front but off to the side, where his car is partially obscured by the neighbor’s wired fence. He turns off his headlights so he doesn’t bring attention to himself. “I’m parked by the neighbor’s fence.”

“Thank God.” Immediately, Tony hears shuffling from the other side of the phone, a slight squeak suggesting that Peter just moved the shower curtain.

“Alright,” the mechanic says, “I’m gonna hang up now—”

_ “No, _ please don’t. I-I’ll be right there.”

The armored hero still has his phone on speaker mode as he hears more noises from Peter’s end of the line. Light footsteps, the swish of what is obviously a window, and grunts from the kid himself as he climbs out.

Tony hangs up the phone when he catches sight of the kid running as fast as humanly possible to the car. He’s unlocked the vehicle for not even two seconds before the spiderling opens the door and bolts onto the passenger seat.

The man gives his mentee a few seconds to catch his breath, his fingers thumping nervously on the steering wheel as he gives this kid a once-over.

Peter looks fine, Tony notices, just like he said on the phone.

_ So what the fuck happened? _

Even after he calms down, the tyke doesn’t say anything. He simply stares out the windshield while fidgeting with his fingers in his lap, his left knee bouncing at an alarming speed.

“Peter?”

Said kid’s head snaps to his left, giving his father figure an unreadable expression. His body shows nervousness and anxiety while in his eyes, he seems relieved.

Now, how the hell is Tony going to fix this?

“What happened?” said man continues, “You’re really scaring me here—”

“Can you drive?” His protege’s gaze goes back to that windshield, staring at the kids in the yard. “Please?”

The billionaire releases a deep sigh. “Kid—”

“I promise I’ll tell you everything just please drive.” The child’s voice drops to a whisper. “I wanna get outta here.”

Tony doesn’t say anything more as he turns on his headlights. He puts the car in “drive” and speeds past that house, frowning at the way Peter ducks his head under his window to prevent him from being in anyone’s line of sight.

The next few minutes go by in silence. Tony is planning on taking his kid back to the lake house with him when he hears a certain spider-boy’s stomach release a long growl in hunger.

“Sorry,” Peter says sheepishly, wrapping an arm around his abdomen, “I’ll get something when I get home.”

“Or we can get something right now. I see a  _ Wendy’s _ sign up ahead, you interested?”

“Are you sure—?”

“I can’t have you spilling your guts on an empty stomach, what kinda person does that make me?”

Peter rolls his eyes but a smile escapes him all the same. “Thanks. I’ll take two double ‘baconators.’”

“With fries—?”

“And a chocolate frosty? Please?”

“Well,” Tony says with a smirk, “Since you asked  _ so _ nicely—”

“And had a really shitty night so this’ll be the perfect medicine?”

“Yep, yep, and you’re gonna give me a heart attack in the damn drive-thru—”

“I’m sorry, I just, it’s hard to explain, okay? And it’s so embarrassing that I don’t ever wanna go back to school again.”

“Kid, I’m sure it’s not that dramatic—”

“You don’t know what it is yet, how can you already have an opinion—”

“‘Cuz I was a teenager once too, you know. In your head, you think it’s the biggest thing but in reality, it’ll all blow over by Tuesday.”

“This might take a little longer than Tuesday,” the boy mutters.

The billionaire chooses not to comment, putting his mind on their order as he rides his brake through the drive-thru. They soon get their food and continue on their way with no real destination in sight. It’d be a bit awkward to arrive at the lake house mid-dinner.

“So,” Tony says after a couple of minutes, taking another bite of his burger, “Spill already, holy shit.”

“Can’t I finish my burgers first?” his kid whines.

_ “Fine.” _

“So, what were you up to?”

“No, we’re not doing that small talk shit, you’re worrying me too much.”

“Well,  _ fine.” _

“Are you mocking me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about—”

“You were mocking me, weren’t you? Am I that easy to mock—?”

“Shockingly easy, actually.” Peter finishes his first burger, wrapping the foil into a ball before putting it in the paper their food came in. He then says while unwrapping his second burger, “Being asexual is kinda annoying sometimes.”

That catches Tony off guard, both what the kid said and how he said it. He sounded defeated, sad, hurt even.

_ Does this have to do with what the fuck happened tonight? _

“How so?” the man asks, his voice muffled since he’s mid-chew, “You make ace jokes all the time, comment on how having a sex drive sounds like ‘too much work’, and you’re always giving me ace shit like those cheesy stickers, what’s changed?”

“Nothing’s changed like that.” Peter keeps that same tone as he eats his second burger. “It’s just, being normal sounds so easy, y’know?”

“How do you mean?”

“Um…not yet.”

_ For fuck’s sake. _

The rest of their meal is spent in silence, the atmosphere both tense and content, two words that Tony never imagined could be put together and still make sense.

_ So this is an ace thing. _

_ Something that I know too well. _

_ Which makes this that much scarier. _

The last of their burgers and fries are consumed and the trash is put back in the brown paper bag. Peter picks up his frosty but is making no move to drink it.

“You full?” Tony asks.

The tyke shakes his head. “Just thinking. I’m also getting a little nauseous.”

“One burger too many?”

“No.” Peter shakes his head once more. “Just thinking about what happened.”

“Which is what? Kid, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong—”

“That’s the thing, you  _ can’t _ help me.” The teenager puts his treat in one of the drink holders. “I can’t fix who I am any more than you can fix who you are.”

“And that’s a bad thing why?”

“It’s not—” The young genius cuts himself off with a groan, propping his elbows on his knees and putting his head in his hands. “Sometimes it’d just be nice to be  _ normal,” _ he says slowly, his voice coming out as a mumble through his palms, “If I was  _ normal, _ this shit wouldn’t’ve happened.”

“What  _ did _ happen, Peter?” Tony asks, almost in a snap but he keeps his frustration at bay.

_ Talk to me, kid,  _ please _ talk to me. _

“I was an idiot,” the intern says, sighing defeatedly as he drops his hands from his face, “An absolute fucking idiot.”

“I betcha you’re not near as much of an idiot as you think you are.”

“You don’t know the full story.” With a deep, shaky breath, Peter finally starts. “There’s this guy.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s, uh, he’s really cute.”

A smirk escapes the older man. “Yeah?”

“Like  _ really _ cute. He’s a senior, he plays basketball, he has dimples, and he’s just really fucking cute.”

Tony can’t help but snort. “Was he at this party?”

His protege nods his head. “Yeah, and he, um, we talked for a bit.”

“Oh yeah?”

“And he smiled at me. Like, like he liked me, y’know?”

“You say that like it’s some shocking thing, anybody would be lucky to have you—”

“Easy for you to say, you’re biased.” The tyke gives him a half-smile before he keeps going. “So anyway, I was, uh, I was kinda shocked by that ‘cuz we don’t know each other that well or anything. And it’s not like I  _ really _ had a crush on the guy but yeah, he’s cute, so of course I like him back, right?”

_ Had. _

_ He didn’t say “have”, he said he  _ had _ a crush, as in past tense. _

_ What changed, what the fuck did this guy do? _

“I mean, yeah,” Tony says, keeping his current thoughts at the forefront of his mind, “That’s the whole point when you start exploring the possibility of a relationship, you gotta figure out if you actually like the guy or not.”

“And I thought I did. Which is why when he asked me to go upstairs with him, I said ‘yes.’”

_ Oh, shit. _

_ I know where this is going. _

Tony shoots his kid a look of fear.  _ “Peter—” _

“Nothing happened, not what you’re thinking—”

“But something obviously  _ did _ happen for you to be freaking out like this.” The man takes a deep breath. “Do I need to track this guy down and kill him or something—”

“Don’t tempt me,” Peter says with a grunt, hastily raking his hand through his hair, “So, like, he took me into one of the bedrooms and we started, uh, making out, and it was fun. I mean, I’m kissing this cute guy who’s also a really good kisser and yeah, it felt nice.”

“You don’t gotta defend yourself to me, kiddo, I’m glad you were having fun. So when did it get…not fun?”

The teenager’s head falls in shame. “When he wanted to go further than kissing.”

His hero’s eyebrows rise to his hairline. “I see—”

“And the stupid part is, I knew that’s why he asked me to come upstairs in the first place, like from the second he asked me that question I knew, but my dumbass said ‘yes’ anyway—”

“Cuz you were hoping this time would be different,” Tony says defeatedly, “And this time, you might would want to have sex too.”

Peter turns to the older man, his eyes widening in realization. “Yeah, exactly that. I guess you know from experience, huh?”

“A little,” the mechanic says, chuckling despite himself, “What’d you do?”

“Freaked out, obviously. I told him I wasn’t, uh, ready and stuff. Then he was like, ‘But I thought you were having fun,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, I was, can’t we just go back to kissing?’ and he said, ‘But this’ll be more fun,' and like—” the web-slinger cuts himself off with a hopeless sigh. “He wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

“Peter,” the billionaire says lowly, “You said nothing like that happened—”

“And it’s true, nothing did. So then…” Peter takes another deep breath, wrapping his arms around his middle. “He started, uh, trying to do stuff anyway, like trying to get in my pants was gonna magically change my mind.”

“Oh my God,” Tony mutters, his hands holding tight onto the steering wheel as his blood boils from head to toe.

_ He said nothing happened. _

_ Hang on to that. _

_ Nothing happened. _

“What happened next?” he asks, not entirely sure if he wants to know if he’s being honest.

“I uh,” Peter starts but he doesn’t continue. Tony notices his kid’s hands are in a death grip on his shirt so without thinking, he reaches over and gives the tyke’s left knee a comforting squeeze, causing the bouncing to slow but not stop completely.

“I um,” the boy genius goes on, “I told him I’m asexual.”

This time it’s Iron Man’s eyes that widen in surprise.  _ “Damn—” _

“I know, what the fuck was I thinking—?”

“That you needed to stand up for yourself and I’m glad you did. He backed off after that, right?”

“Welllll—”

“Pete, do I need to turn this car around and go kick his ass?”

“Again, don’t tempt me. Uh, he said he could ‘fix it.’ He was like, ‘Just gotta do it once and it’ll solve  _ all _ your problems.’ Then he tried to get in my pants again.”

“Holy shit, I’m so turning around—”

_ “Relax, _ I kicked him.”

“Please tell me you kicked him where I think you kicked him—”

_ “Yup.” _ A victorious smile slowly etches across the boy’s face. “And I kicked him hard enough that he shouldn’t be able to use it for a while. How’s that for ‘no’?”

“If he still didn’t get the picture then there’ll soon be a jail cell with his name on it.” Tony moves his hand to rub his kid’s shoulder, smiling at the way the boy relaxes under his comfort. “I’m proud of you, kiddo, that was a brave thing you did.”

Said teen shrugs. “I just hate that I didn’t want to, y’know? If I was normal, I could’ve done it—”

“But what if you didn’t want to anyway? Most people with sex drives don’t mate like bunnies, there’ll be times when they won’t be in the mood to do that either. What happens then?”

Peter looks up at his father figure, giving him a look of horror. “I don’t know,” he whispers, “I-I don’t wanna think about that—”

“I know it’s a scary subject but you gotta understand.” Tony stops at a stoplight, giving him a couple of minutes to look at his kid directly. He gives the tyke’s shoulder another light squeeze. “This, what you went through tonight, it could’ve happened to anyone, asexual or not. So what you gotta get through your head is that you did nothing wrong, this is all on  _ him, _ he should’ve backed off the second you said ‘no.’”

The light turns green so the scientist puts his focus back to the road, periodically glancing at the kid. “And while yes, if you wanted to do it, things would’ve turned out much differently but you can’t think like that. Like you said, you can’t change who you are so why would you want to?”

“To be normal—”

“Hate to break it to you, kiddo, but being ace isn’t the only thing that makes you not normal.”

Peter gives him an offended look.  _ “Hey—” _

“And none of us would want it any other way.” Tony gives him a brief smile, his hand moving to comfortingly rub the nape of his mentee’s neck. “Being asexual is who you are, who  _ we _ are. If the other person can’t accept that, then they’re not worth having around.” He then concludes, “We’re not the problem.”

“Then why does it always feel like we are?”

“‘Cuz we’re different. People tend to get scared of anyone who’s different from the norm and instead of respecting it and learning about it, they try to force their ‘status quo’ onto us.”

Tony continues, “And then there’s people like—what’s that guy’s name?”

“Skip.”

“Wow, that name alone sounds douchey.”

“You’re telling me…he’s not cute anymore.”

“Nope, no he is not. Anyway, so the people like Skip, all they want is power. No matter what sexuality you are, tonight was all about what  _ he _ wanted. Make sense?”

“Yeah,” Peter drones, “Logically, I know you’re saying all the right things. Some people just suck as human beings.”

“Amen to that. Maybe I  _ will _ turn around—”

“Mr. Stark, we’re like thirty minutes out—”

“So? You’re with an adult, you technically don’t have a curfew if you’re with an adult—”

“But he’s not worth wasting gas on,” the spiderling chuckles, “And besides, I kicked him so hard, he’s not gonna be able to have sex for  _ weeks.” _

“Ugh,  _ fine. _ You’re ruining my fun.” Tony’s expression turns solemn. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

Peter momentarily leans into the comfort before changing positions, propping his arms onto the armrest of his seat and facing his father figure. “Me too,” he says, “I’m just kicking myself for saying ‘yes’ in the first place.”

“Don’t.” The billionaire lets go of his grip on the tyke, smiling when said kid grabs that hand in a tight grasp. “You said ‘yes’ to going upstairs with him, and you said ‘yes’ to kissing him, that doesn’t mean you had to say ‘yes’ to having sex with him. There’s no ‘package deal.’”

The young hero nods his head. “Now I’m scared about what he’s gonna say at school.”

“‘Cuz you came out to him?”

Peter nods his head. “Ned’s the only other person who knows,” he says, his voice shaky with fear, “I don’t know what to do.”

“You’re gonna stand up for yourself and defend who you are. With us, that’s all we can do—”

“But I’m  _ tired, _ can’t we just live in peace? Do I really gotta bring my Powerpoint on asexuality wherever I go?”

“You have a Powerpoint on that—?”

“You know what I mean, it’s just annoying. Maybe I  _ should _ make a Powerpoint.”

“You really got that much time on your hands, huh?”

“I mean, It’s the time that would’ve been spent on sex if I wasn’t asexual. It’s not actually gonna be educational, I just want ace colors everywhere.”

“You already have them all over your damn laptop.”

“Uh, no I don’t.” Peter briefly puts his hand on his chest in mock offense. “There’s no such thing as too many ace stickers.”

“Then why do I have such a huge pile of them on my nightstand?”

“‘Cuz you haven’t been using them, silly goose. You should put them somewhere.”

“Like where, exactly?”

“Your million and one tablets, your Iron Man suit, your freaking robots—”

“They’re _robots,_ they don’t have sexualities—”

“Then they can just be allies who’ll happily show off their owner’s ‘aceness.’”

Tony can’t help but snort. “So you sound like you’re feeling better, huh?”

“Yeah, kinda.” The tyke’s expression falls, ever so slightly. “Maybe being ace is still pretty cool.”

“Hey, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t’ve figured out that I’m this too. It’s kinda cool in a way, like we got our own secret club or something.”

“We got a designated flag and everything,” Peter says with a chuckle, the expression falling as fast as it came, “Okay, so maybe I don’t regret backing out b-but it would’ve been nice if it was different, for non-ace people to not be focused on sex for once.”

“Some don’t, they’re just harder to find.” Tony decides to change the subject. “So, it’s barely ten PM, what do you wanna do? The world is our oyster.”

His kid snorts as he gives their grip another squeeze. “I don’t know. What do aces like us do on a Friday night?”

“Besides not do the obvious? I have absolutely no idea.”

“Can we just, uh, keep driving? It’s actually kinda making me feel better.”

“I have half a tank. We could drive all over New York City if you want. You’re still paying for my gas though, right?” the older man jokes.

“Do you take ‘easy payments’ in  _ Monopoly _ money?”

“Just what I want,” Tony says with a giggle, “Pink twenty-dollar bills.”

“The beginning of modern currency.” Peter lets go of their grip and picks up the frosty, now melted to the point where he can use his straw to get through the normally thick consistency. “Thank you again for doing this,” he says, starting in on the chocolate treat.

“No sweat, I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to talk to me. I hate that you had to go through all this tonight, that sounded like hell.”

“It was but I count my blessings too, at least nothing more happened than what did. Um.” The teenager takes another slurp of his ice cream to stall for a few seconds. “I hate that you know what this feels like.” 

“Eh, that was a long time ago and it certainly wasn’t the extent of what you went through. I still wanna go back and kick that guy’s ass.”

“You said the world is our oyster.”

“You just told me not to—”

“And now I kinda wanna see you kick his ass—”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Tony drives them around for hours, sometimes they can’t stop talking and other times, they stay in content silence. 

When the silence has gone on for too long, the older hero takes a glance at his kid, seeing him fast asleep with his head tilted towards his father figure, and it’s then that said man decides to take him home.

With him, of course, no way is Tony just dropping off his kid at an apartment complex alone at one AM. Besides, he could use the company when the teenager wakes up.

When he pulls into the driveway of the lake house, Tony could feel his own eyes start to droop with sleep. He puts the car in “park” and turns to his kid, almost cooing at how adorable he looks when he’s snoring. The billionaire unbuckles both of their seatbelts and ever so gently pulls the tyke into his arms, carrying him into his house and setting him on his bed, taking off his shoes before tucking him in under the covers.

Tony then gives his kid a light kiss on the top of his head before he gets ready for bed himself. The last thing he sees before he turns off the lamp are those damn stickers still resting on his nightstand, all with the design of the asexual flag in some form or another.

He can’t help but smile, especially at the one on top, of a robot with the asexual flag on its chest.

_ Eh, why the hell not? _

He takes the sticker and peels off the backing, centering it on the back of his phone case for either everyone to see or just a special something for him.

Because that’s the thing that asexuals need to remind themselves sometimes.

That they’re special.

And nothing in this world can ever be done to change that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!!! I'm also on tumblr @baloobird


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